There are 10 albums right now, so that's a good, even number. I'm curious how people rank them, especially since the Morse-era albums can be very close in quality.
I've included a short blurb on why I rank the albums the way I do. None of the blurbs are insightful, but I felt like I needed to justify my rankins, because, again, they can be very close in quality.
Top Tier
V- There isn't a bad song on this one, and I feel like it has the most unique style of all the albums. Their influences are evident, but their own sound shines through. I don't even think Morse's solo career sounded quite like this. The highlights are At the End of the Day, The Great Nothing, and Revalation (in that order), but the other three songs are a lot of fun to listen to.
X- This is the first post-Morse album I heard, and I still think it's the most focused and coherent. It's proggy enough, but it really rocks as well with some tight compositions. Most of the songs do a good job of developing on limited musical themes, playing a small number of motifs in different ways. Like V, this doesn't have a single weak track. I don't like Their Names Escape Me very much, but that's not part of the "official" release so I'm not counting it (thankfully, or it might be knocked down a notch). Highlights are Jaws of Heaven, The Quiet House, and The Edge of the In-Between.
Snow- I'm going to say right off the bat that this is my favorite Spock's Beard album, I just don't think it's their best. The concept is derivative and isn't evident enough in the lyrics of the songs, but I do like how the different moods are successfully conveyed through the music (The second half of disc 2 is particularly effective). I originally liked this album just for disc 1, but after several listens, love disc 2 as well. Carrie and Looking for Answers are great songs, but they feel a little out of place and I wish they'd at least dropped Looking for Answers.
The Light- Of course this is one of their best. It lacks the refinement of their future albums, but in a way the rawer sound helps. The Light is the obvious highlight here, but all of the songs are good. Of all the Spock's Beard albums, I feel like this one boasts the most variety, but that may be in part because of the abrupt transitions between parts of songs.
The Kindness of Strangers- Like the four albums above, I don't think there's a weak track on this one. The Good Don't Last is my favorite of the "epics," with Harm's Way and Flow also being quite memorable if not as instantly likeable. I also think this is their catchiest and most accessible album, with the middle four songs almost having a power-pop vibe to them. Strange World is one of my most-listened to Spock's Beard songs and, along with All on a Sunday, probably my favorite pop song from the Morse era of the band. June is my favorite Spock's Beard ballad. The problem is, apart from my favorite songs on this album (The Good Don't Last, June, Strange World), I don't think the other good tracks are as good as some of the best from the other albums.
Middle Tier
Octane- The epic here is very, very strong. I like every individual track (yes, even Surfing Down the Avalanche), and it has a powerful, emotional atmosphere that's like nothing I've ever heard from the Morse era. It's strong enough to elevate the whole album. After that, the only track I regularly listen to is There Was a Time, which is my favorite post-Morse ballad. NWC and The Planet's Hum are okay.
Beware of Darkness- This has The Doorway, Thoughts, and Walking on the Wind. Fantastic. It also has Time Has Come, which sounds like a rehash of some of my favorite ideas from the first album. I could take or leave the rest. Waste Away has some of the worst lyrics I've ever heard in a song.
Spock's Beard- This album suffers from overload. I don't know if I've ever listened to the whole thing in one sitting--it just can't hold my attention. A Perfect Day is a classic Beard track, as is As Far As The Mind Can See (a worthy epic which would have been right at home on X, actually). Skeletons at the Feast is my favorite Beard instrumental track, and Rearranged and All that's left are good enough. The Slow Crash Landing Man and (I know this isn't popular opinion) Sometimes They Stay, Sometimes They Go are fun. I don't like the rest. With Your Kiss might be one of the blandest epics in this band's catalog. There's a good 52 minutes of music I like on this album, which is more than I can say for the other two albums on this list, so it's a close call.
Bottom Tier
Feel Euphoria- Onomatopoeia is awesome. East of Eden, West of Memphis is almost as awesome, and would be perfect is not for the last pointless minute. Ghosts of Autumn and Shining Star are beautiful. The Bottom Line is okay. The rest is meh.
Day For Night- I really want to like this album, as it has two of my favorite Spock's Beard songs--Day for Night and Crack the Big Sky, the latter of which reminds me just a bit of At the End of the Day. The problem is the rest of the album is so uneven. None of the short songs except Skin stand out that much, The Gypsy seems to go nowhere, and the resident epic is uneven at best. I love Lay it Down and The Healing Colors of Sound, Pt. 2, but, aside from occasional interest in Mommy Comes Back, generally skip the rest. I have such a love/hate relationship with this epic that I actually used Audacity to cut it down to 13 minutes. I wouldn't think of doing that with any other Spock's Beard song.
Topic: Spock's Beard (Read 147563 times)
